The Superiority of Man: The Earth as Home of All Creatures

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The Superiority of Man
Man is definitely the most intelligent being on the earth. The mental capacity and the ability to think beyond the norm has set man apart from other animals and provided him with immense powers to control them. As far a science is concerned, earth is the only planet out there with the ability to support and sustain life. Therefore, this remains to be the home of all living things as there is no other planet that supports life apart from the earth. This study seeks to analyze the opening statement by King Fa on the Great Declaration of Shang Shu.
The Earth as Home of All Creatures
There have been many scientific missions to discover a planet that supports life just like the earth to no avail (Ward & Brownlee pg04). Many of these missions by National Aeronautics and Space Association (NASA) and other bodies have not yielded any fruitful results. Indeed, after the advancement in science and technology and development of powerful telescopes and other tools necessary for exploratory purposes, we can conclude that the earth is still the only planet in the universe that supports life.
In the Great Declaration of Shang Shu, King Fa declared that “Heaven and earth is the parent of all creatures; and of all creatures man is the most highly endowed” (Legge). There are several reasons why I agree with this statement. There are many evidences and reasons why the earth is the parent and home of all creatures including man. The ability to support life makes it the perfect place where human beings can exist and live productively. Earth can be able to support life because of the presence of oxygen in the atmosphere. Oxygen is an important gas needed by all living things in order to survive, as it is an important component for the functioning of their cells (Utah.edu). The gravitational pull of the earth is essential for the maintenance and sustenance of the thick atmosphere surrounding the earth. Unlike Mars and Mercury which have little or no atmospheres because of low gravitational pull, the thick cover of air helps in preventing the harmful cosmic radiation from penetrating into the earth (Ward & Brownlee pg19). The carbon dioxide in the earth’s atmosphere is useful to plants to manufacture food through photosynthesis by using sunlight.Herbivorous animals consume these plants, gaining energy from them, which eventually obtained by man and other animals. The sun therefore becomes an important source of energy and distribution of food in the ecosystem.
Another prerequisite for the existence of life that earth contains is water. Water is commonly known as the universal solvent because of its ability to dissolve almost all substances. It contains oxygen which is important in supporting life, and is able to dissolve other minerals which are important for plants (Utah.edu). The bodies of all plants and animals including man are covered by 70% water, making it a very important ingredient for life.
Origin of Man and other Creatures
The origin of man has been the greatest subject of debate since the onset of the 18th Century. With advancement in science, scientific theories and explanations have tried to provide explanations to the existence of living things and ...